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You are too late, the stock market already beat bitcoin to the punch on this one. We've been trading virtual assets for quite a long time now, and gold simply w

You are too late, the stock market already beat bitcoin to the punch on this one. We've been trading virtual assets for quite a long time now, and gold simply went from being a hard asset that you hold in your hand to a virtual asset that sits in a warehouse somewhere. Bitcoin is just another symbol on the ticker.

3pt14159 13y ago
It isn't the same thing. For example, if you owned gold through eGold (fairly common place back in the day) you'd still be waiting to get your money back after the feds raided it. Sure they held the physical gold in Dubai somewhere, but the US government shut it down and they ultimately control what you can and cannot transfer for all electronic forms of gold.
digitalengineer 13y ago
Except that you don't really own the stock. In almost every instance when you buy or sell securities with a broker, your name is not actually on the stock or bond certificate. The name that appears on the certificate is that of your broker, and this is referred to as being held "in street name".Ask the people who were MF Global clients how much rights they had after the meltdown. E.g. none. They got to line up at the end of the queue of debtors. Bitcoins is more like stocks with Direct registration.
- oleganza 13y ago
  Bitcoin is even better. You own it completely privately without even "direct registration" with any one third party, even the government registry like in case of stocks. Paper USD that you own is "direct registration" and it still does not belong to you. Government takes a bite from it when it wants by printing more paper dollars like yours. You can only own physical stuff like paper of the dollar itself (but not the value), and Bitcoin. Everything else is promises, not ownership. http://blog.oleganza.com/post/67362431718/you-can-own-bitcoin-you-cant-own-your-dollars http://blog.oleganza.com/post/67362431718/you-can-own-bitcoi...

3pt14159 13y ago

It isn't the same thing. For example, if you owned gold through eGold (fairly common place back in the day) you'd still be waiting to get your money back after the feds raided it. Sure they held the physical gold in Dubai somewhere, but the US government shut it down and they ultimately control what you can and cannot transfer for all electronic forms of gold.

digitalengineer 13y ago

Except that you don't really own the stock. In almost every instance when you buy or sell securities with a broker, your name is not actually on the stock or bond certificate. The name that appears on the certificate is that of your broker, and this is referred to as being held "in street name".Ask the people who were MF Global clients how much rights they had after the meltdown. E.g. none. They got to line up at the end of the queue of debtors. Bitcoins is more like stocks with Direct registration.

oleganza 13y ago
Bitcoin is even better. You own it completely privately without even "direct registration" with any one third party, even the government registry like in case of stocks. Paper USD that you own is "direct registration" and it still does not belong to you. Government takes a bite from it when it wants by printing more paper dollars like yours. You can only own physical stuff like paper of the dollar itself (but not the value), and Bitcoin. Everything else is promises, not ownership. http://blog.oleganza.com/post/67362431718/you-can-own-bitcoin-you-cant-own-your-dollars http://blog.oleganza.com/post/67362431718/you-can-own-bitcoi...